REBROADCAST: Building Public Will for Literacy by Igniting Parent and Family Engagement

This week’s webinar, Building Public Will for Literacy by Igniting Parent and Family Engagement, focused on grassroots parent advocacy movements that center children first and shift toward active parent-led power building and community engagement. Panelists shared practical examples of building parent-led literacy movements in Fort Worth, Texas; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Los Angeles, California.

Organizer Zero 
“Movements only accelerate through action. You don’t build power by waiting; you build power by organizing, testing strategies, and mobilizing people.”
– Mehul Patel, Organizer Zero 

The webinar began with Mehul Patel with Organizer Zero (OZ) describing the framework OZ uses to support communities with bridging the gap between parent engagement and genuine parent-led power.

The OZ National Network includes four shared policy pillars that guide its approaches: 1) strong academic outcomes in literacy and math, 2) data transparency and accountability, 3) school safety and positive learning environments, and 4) school choice.

Patel also reviewed three layers of impact with power building, including: 1) policy wins and measurable results that move the needle for children; 2) redefining who participates in decision-making so parents and families are involved and change narratives to establish long-term leverage in their communities; and 3) transforming community relationships into power so that long-term institutional change ensures accountability well beyond individual campaign wins.

OZ provides support to communities to facilitate parent-led advocacy by focusing on five core competencies in OZ’s Power Building Framework. The competencies include:

• Strategic Planning — Building a clear vision and concrete action plans for the movement
• Organizing & Mobilizing — Building a base and mobilizing parents for coordinated action
• Policy & Advocacy Campaigns — Designing and running campaigns that produce real policy change
• Communications — Leveraging parent stories and earned media to drive public narrative
• Movement Infrastructure — Budget, operations, fundraising, and staff capacity that sustain movements long term

OZ leaders have identified literacy as a powerful organizing catalyst because when parents learn their child is not reading at grade level, it drives them from concern to action. Also, literacy connects to civic outcomes, including school safety, incarceration rates, and economic mobility. The typical trajectory for an OZ-supported campaign first focuses on advocating data transparency, so parents have access to their child’s real reading proficiency data. The next step is demanding real solutions such as high-dosage tutoring, reading interventions, teacher training, and/or science of reading instruction. The final step is the call for improved outcomes and solutions that translate to measurable student gains.

Three stories were shared from local communities who are deep in the work of parent- and community-led advocacy for literacy. What makes these movements successful is that all three ground their advocacy in data. They meet parents in spaces that are accessible and acknowledge that some adults and parents also have challenges with literacy. Finally, they recognize that parent-led initiatives can also generate compelling data that can be shared with the school district.

Parent Shield Forth Worth 
“People can say anything, but the data cannot be disputed. We always went back to using data as our receipts.”
-Trenace Dorsey-Hollins 

Trenace Dorsey-Hollins of Parent Shield Fort Worth was the first to share her experience. Discovering the wide gap between her daughter’s report card grades and her actual reading level was an important spark for Dorsey-Hollins. A first-grade teacher had admitted to assigning all students the same grades in the first six weeks to show growth later. This moment activated Dorsey-Hollins to organize other parents, mobilize, assess the data, and eventually establish her organization. The following strategies are used by Dorsey-Hollins and her organization, Parent Shield Fort Worth.

Literacy Clinics & Reading Assessments
Eight clinics were established across Fort Worth in July, staffed by certified teachers. Children are assessed to determine actual reading levels prior to interventions. Initially, over 90% of parents entered believing their child was on/above grade level when in fact, over 67% of those children were found to be well below grade level. Through the clinics, parents are equipped with data and tools to begin making improvements. They were encouraged to bring results to teachers on the first day of school.

Parent Training and Storytelling 
Parents are trained to explore their personal “why” for caring about education, and to speak confidently at school board meetings, to local officials, and to the media. The local media now contacts Parent Shield weekly for parent comments on education stories.

Community Mobilization 
A balloon release event was held signifying parents taking literacy into their own hands. They invited their mayor, school board trustees, pastors, and community partners. The balloon release signified a community-wide commitment to support the literacy outcomes for children to rise. As a result of the community advocacy, Parent Shield Forth Worth secured city funds due to the mayor’s commitment to improvement. The team also met individually with every school board trustee to secure commitments to advocate for literacy.

Intervention Program (Parent-Led) 
A parent-led reading intervention program was established with the first year resulting in 96% of students growing at least one grade level in three months. Data was brought back to the school district as evidence of positive outcomes. Fort Worth ISD sought to adopt the program districtwide, but Parent Shield declined to sell rights to preserve parent trust and ownership. Data from the program is now used by parents when advocating at school board meetings.

Civic Engagement and the School District Relationship 
Parent Shield Forth Worth ran education-specific mayoral candidate forums centered on literacy. GOTV (get-out-the-vote) efforts resulted in three times more voters in the most recent school board elections compared to the citywide turnout rate. Parents are encouraged to attend every school board meeting, review agendas in advance, and share an infographic on social media and via email to parents, trustees, and community partners. The superintendent of the school district requested monthly meetings with Parent Shield Forth Worth to proactively ensure district decisions align with parent needs. Fort Worth Education Partnership provides data and analysis that Dorsey-Hollins brings to meetings with trustees and the city council.

We Excel Cincinnati 
“This is not just a school problem, a parent problem, a house problem, or a student problem. This is a community problem.”
-Terana Boyd  

Terana Boyd of We Excel Cincinnati shared her story next. Boyd moved to Cincinnati 16 years ago as a single mother of two young children seeking to break a cycle of generational poverty. She entered the city without a support network and faced significant challenges accessing quality schools. Her personal experience navigating the education system shapes her advocacy. She later earned her associate degree and built a career in the nonprofit sector. Boyd shared that 39% of K–3 students in Cincinnati Public School District (CPSD) are proficient in reading and 28% are proficient in math. The implication of this data signifies a call to action. The following strategies are used by Boyd and We Excel Cincinnati.

Parent Power Sessions
Parents gather to learn proficiency data on reading and math for students in local schools. These sessions include school board members as speakers and are held at community centers, supporting better accessibility for families.

Read to Rise Literacy Pilot
A free, high-dosage intervention pilot program was launched in Cincinnati with sessions held twice weekly at partner community locations. Community partners include Save Our Youth Kings and Queens and Father’s Uplift. Partners focus on community challenges (gun violence prevention, supporting young fathers, therapy services). We Excel Cincinnati published an op-ed about the program and, as a result, received supportive outreach from teachers in the district.

School Board Engagement and the Relationship with the School District
Members of We Excel Cincinnati attend board meetings consistently. During the meetings, parents speak in support of policies that promote data transparency. We Excel Cincinnati mobilized parents to support a new policy recently passed by CPSD requiring reading and math levels to appear on report cards. The organization is relatively new and in the process of building formal relationships. Two wins are that CPSD is soliciting parent input on the new report card policy, and the district is asking “How would this help you as a parent?” We Excel Cincinnati is included in policy-based meetings.

Families In Schools – Read LA!
“I firmly believe that every parent and caregiver wants the best for their child.”
-Olga Corona De La Cruz 

Olga Corona De La Cruz of Read LA! from Families In Schools (FIS) shared that her personal background drives her work to ensure families have the knowledge and tools to be true partners in their children’s education. FIS is an LA-based organization with 15+ years of experience centering families as ongoing partners in education — not just participants. They use Dr. Karen Mapp’s Dual Capacity Framework and work at the district, school, and family levels. The Read LA! Campaign was launched in November 2023, after the mayor of Los Angeles recognized literacy as a civic crisis.

The Literacy Ambassadors Program is based on the promotora model, which originated in the 1950s in Mexico to promote public health, and was adapted for education and early literacy. It involves a two-day, six-hour in-person training (adapted to virtual as needed). Day 1 is focused on the science of reading, six foundational skills for literacy by end of third grade, and the literacy landscape in Los Angeles Unified School District. Day 2 includes community organizing, elevator pitch development, and outreach strategies. The trained ambassadors take knowledge learned into their communities and spread awareness as trusted community messengers. The six foundational literacy skills shared with families include: 1) phonemic awareness, 2) phonics, 3) fluency, 4) vocabulary, 5) reading comprehension, and 6) writing. The goal is to have one ambassador in each of LAUSD’s seven sub-districts, and they are currently active in five. Recruitment includes a short application and interview process. There are now a total of 35 ambassadors involved with the program.

Coalition Partners and the Relationship with the School District 
The Read LA! Coalition includes approximately 16 community-based organizations with diverse expertise and networks. A monthly virtual coalition meeting supports district updates and coordinated action. There is a strong partnership with LAUSD’s Department of Elementary Instruction and Family Engagement. The coalition is positioned as a “critical partner” that supports and supplements district work, including co-created parent question guides with the district. The Literacy Ambassador program has expanded into LAUSD elementary school parent centers. The Read LA! newsletter features “Get to Know Your Board Member” interviews to connect families to elected officials.